Microsoft plans Dungeon Siege expansion

What do RPG characters do when they've completed their quest? Like the rest of us, they take some much-deserved time off, venture outside their troubled kingdoms and set up base camp on a beach somewhere. Unhappily for them though, adventure has this habit of lingering in the air.

And so it is that the denizens of Ehb - home to last year's popular Dungeon Siege - are once again forced to contend with unravelling mystery on the nearby tropical island of Aranna, a land of Clockwork Beasts and Doppelgangers.

Budding adventurers will be tasked with exploring nine new areas including a jungle region, taking on the role of farm boy, farm girl or half-giant, and using spells to transform into wolves, lava monsters or trolls, amongst other things. Along the way, there will be all sorts of indigenous armour and weaponry to collect, and a new pack animal to defend the player's treasure. Better than a donkey, anyway.

In case you haven't guessed, Dungeon Seige: Legends of Aranna is a forthcoming expansion pack for last year's RPG, developed under the watchful eye of Microsoft by Mad Doc Software and Gas Powered Games, and it's due out at the start of November.